Luggage holder



y 1934- J. RITTER, JR 1,960,455

LUGGAGE HOLDER Filed Dec. 17, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

mwwmwe A TTORNEYJ J. RITTER, JR

LUGGAG May 29, 1934.

E HOLDER 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

v INVENTOR. W wyz ATTORNEYS y 1934- J. RITTER, JR 1,960,455

LUGGAGE HOLDER 17 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec.

" llllnm INVENTO BY W em v 777M ATTORNEYS Patented May 29, 1934 u i'rEoSTATES PATENT OFFICE LUGGAGE HOLDER tion of Wisconsin ApplicationDecember 17, 1930, Serial No. 502,943

4 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in theconstruction of luggage carriers, and relates more specifically to animproved tray structure especially applicable to suitcases, trunks orother luggage housings, for the purpose of confining wearing apparel orgarments therein.

A general object of the invention is to provide an improved luggageconfining structure which is simple and compact in construction, andwhich is moreover highly efficient in use.

The present tendency towards increase in air travel makes it imperativefor the manufacturers of trunks and hand. luggage for suchtransportation to reduce to a minimum the size and weight of theirproducts, without undesirably sacrificing available space. The travelingpublic also demands that containers for wearing apparel such as suitsand overcoats, be adapted to effectively conceal such garments withoutundesirably crushing and wrinkling the same, and that the garments bereadily accessible without necessarily disturbing other paraphernaliaconfined within the carrying case. While it is desirable to have suchgarments thus snugly and safely confined within the luggage carrierduring transportation, it is also frequently desirable to remove thearticles and to hang the same up in a wardrobe or closet when thedestination of the traveler has been reached, and it frequently happensthat no proper garment hanging facilities are available at suchdestination.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide animproved luggage carrier which meets all of the special requirements forevery class of transportation, and for the traveling trade in general.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improvedgarment confining tray which is especially adapted for the reception andeffective housing of wearing apparel such as suits, coats, dresses, orthe like.

A further specific object of the invention is to provide an improvedluggage housing structure which will confine a maximum quantity ofparaphernalia in minimum space, and wherein certain wearing apparel issegregated from other miscellaneous luggage.

Still another specific object of the invention is to provideconveniently accessible and manipulable means for confining articlessuch as men's suits, during transportation thereof, without undesirablycrushing the garments.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improved coathanger which occupies minimum space, and which is moreover adaptedeither for snug confinement within a carrier case, or for effective usewhen hanging an associated garment in a wardrobe or closet.

These and other specific objects and advantages will be apparent fromthe following detailed description.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention showing the samespecifically applied to an ordinary suitcase, may be had by referring tothe drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification inwhich like reference characters designate the same or similar parts inthe various views.

Fig. l is a top view of an open suitcase showing one of the improvedtray structures applied therein with the trousers of a mans suit inplace;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the open suitcase and tray, showing thetrousers applied and a coat about to be applied, to the tray;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the open suitcase showing several traystherein, a complete suit having been applied to the upper tray which hasalso been slightly displaced in order to expose a portion of the traydirectly beneath;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the suitcase showing twoempty superimposed garment confining trays therein;

Fig. 5 is a similar vertical section through the suitcase and trays,showing garments completely applied to the lower tray and furthershowing garments partially to the upper tray;

Fig. 6 is also a similar section through the suitcase and trays, showingboth trays loaded and the upper of the trays about to be folded into thecover section of the case;

Fig. 7 is a top view of one of the improved trays in empty condition andremoved from the confining housing;

Fig. 8 is a front view of the improved tray looking toward thelongitudinal edge thereof;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through the improved tray, taken along theline 9-9 of Fig. 7 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation 'of an improved coat hanger especiallyadapted for use in conjunction with the improved tray structure;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the improved coat hanger, showing thesupporting hook thereof in one position of adjustment; and

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the coat hanger with the supporting hookshown in another position of adjustment.

While the improved garment holding tray structure will be hereinafterdescribed as being applied to an ordinary suitcase, it should beunderstood that it is not intended to thereby limit the scope of theinvention since some of the novel features are obviously more generallyapplicable.

Referring to the drawings, the suitcase comprises a main section 14, acover section swingably connected to the section 14 by means of a hinge,and side straps 16 for limiting the swinging movement of the coversection 15. The main section 14 may be provided with partitions 17, anda lower tray 18 is formed for confinement within the section 14 directlyadjacent to the partitions, the opposite ends of the tray 18 beingcooperable directly with parallel supporting strips 19 secured to themain section end walls. A second or upper tray 20 is formed forconfinement within the cover section 15, by means of snap fasteners 21,22 of which the fasteners 21 serve as detachable hinges disposed nearthe case section hinge. When the suitcase is open, the lower tray 13rests upon the strips 19 above the partitions 17, and the upper tray 20may be swung downwardly over the tray 18 upon release of the fastener22. Upon further release of the hinge fasteners 21, the upper tray 20may also be freely removed from the suitcase, and the lower tray 18 maybe lifted freely from within the main section 14. Since the traystructures are identical, except for their supporting and retainingmeans, it is only necessary to describe one of these trays 18, 20 indetail.

material sewed or otherwise hingedly attached to the plate 23 near itsedge. The forward ends of the flaps 25 are adapted to extend beneath thecross bar 26, and this bar is detachably confined within the notches 27at the upper edges of the end or side walls 24, by means of snapfasteners 28.

Secured to the tray plate 23 between the flaps 25, is a pocket 29 formedof leather or other suitable material, and this pocket is open towardthe adjacent edge of the plate 23 for the reception of a clothes-hangerhook 30. The hanger hook 30 is pivotally associated with the hanger 31formed of wood or the like, and may be adjusted to either of the twopositions shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. When the hook 30 is disposed asshown in full lines in Figs. 10 and 11, the hanger 31 may be utilized tosupport garments in the usual manner from a wall hook, rod or the like.When in the positon shown in dash-lines in Fig. 10 and in full lines inFig. 12, the hook 30 is capable of being slipped into a pocket 29 of oneof the trays 18, 20, thus positioning the hanger 31 parallel to andabove the adjacent tray plate 23, and as near to the adjacent plateedge, as possible.

During normal use of the improved trays 18, 20, and assuming the traysto have been applied to a suitcase as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive,the lower tray 18 may be positioned upon its supporting strips 19 andthe upper tray 20 swung downwardly thereover as in Fig. 1. Bymanipulating the flaps 25 with the retainer bar 26 removed, a pair oftrousers 32 may be applied to the upper tray 26, as shown in Fig. l, inan obvious manner. After the trousers 32 have been thus applied andfolded, a coat 33 associated with a hanger 31 may be next applied to thetray 20, as shown in Fig. 2, with the hanger hook 30 inserted into theadjacent pocket 29. The cross bar 26 may then be fastened in place bymeans of the snap fasteners 28, and it should be noted that when thecoat 33 is thus positioned upon a tray, the lapels and collar thereoflie substantially within the space between the two flaps 25, therebyprotecting these portions of the coat 33 against undesirable crushing.The lower portions of the coat 33 and of the sleeves thereof, maysubsequently be folded over the retainer bar 26 as shown in Fig. 3,thereby completing the loading of the tray 20 preparatory to concealmentthereof within the suitcase. If it is also desired to pack a vest withthe trousers 32 and coat 33, the vest may be placed either between thetrousers 32 and the tray plate 23, or over the hanger 31 within the coat33. The garments when thus carefully applied, are obviously wellprotected against subsequent crushing and wrinkling.

After the tray 20 has been thus loaded, it may either be swung into thecover section 15 about the hinge fasteners 21 as shown in Fig. 6, orremoved from the case as shown in Fig. 3 after releasing the fasteners21. When the loaded tray 20 is positioned within the cover section 15 orremoved, the lower tray 18 is freely accessible for loading or removal,thereby permitting convenient access to all portions of the suitcase.While more than two trays 18, 20 may be readily confined within a singlesuitcase, the ordinary traveling requirements do not necessitate suchincrease in trays, and the trays 18, 20 may obviously be utilized tosupport garments other than trousers 32 and coats 33 such as shown.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the inventionprovides simple, compact, and readily accessible means for confininggarments within a housing, without crushing the same. The improved traystructure besides being light and strong, may be applied to varioustypes of housings and is readily removable so as to permit convenientaccess to other portions of the housing. The structure has proven highlysuccessful in commercial use, especially as applied to a standardsuitcase such as illustrated herein.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact details of construction herein shown and described, forvarious modificaions within the scope of the claims may occur to personsskilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A garment carrier tray comprising, a supporting plate, a pair oflaterally spaced flaps pivotally connected to one edge portion of saidplate and swingable across the tray so as to permit substantiallyone-half of a garment to be confined between the flaps and plate and theother half to fold over one flap and to extend beneath the other byvirture of the lateral spacing thereof, and a retainer bar extendingover the swinging ends of said flaps beyond the zone of folding, saidbar being removable in order to permit swinging of said flaps forloading and unloading purposes.

2. A garment carrier tray comprising, a supporting plate, a pair oflaterally spaced flaps pivotally connected to one edge portion of saidplate and swingable across the tray so as to permit substantiallyone-half of a garment to be confined between the flaps and plate and theother half to fold over one flap and to extend beneath the other byvirtue of the lateral spacing thereof, a retainer bar extending over theswinging ends of said flaps beyond the zone of folding, said bar beingremovable in order to permit swinging of said flaps for loading andunloading purposes, and a garment hanger secured to said edge portion ofsaid plate oppositely of said bar and between said flaps so as to permitthe medial portion of a garment carried by said hanger to be foldedaround said bar.

3. A garment carrier tray for suit cases, comprising, a supporting platehaving opposite end walls, a pair of laterally spaced flaps pivotallyconnected to one edge portion of said plate between said walls andswingable across the tray so as to permit substantially one half of agarment to be confined between the flaps and plate and the other half tofold over one flap and to extend beneath the other by virtue of thelateral spacing thereof, a retainer bar coacting directly with said endwalls and extending over the swinging ends of said flaps beyond the zoneof folding, said bar being removable from said walls in order to permitswinging of said flaps for loading and unloading purposes, and means fordetachably pivotally connecting said edge portion of the tray within thesuit case near the hinge of the latter.

4. A garment carrier tray for suit cases, comprising, a supporting platehaving opposite end walls, a pair of laterally spaced flaps pivotallyconnected to one edge portion of said plate between said walls andswingable across the tray so as to permit substantially one half of agarment to be confined between the flaps and plate and the other half tofold over one flap and to extend eneath the other by virtue of thelateral spacing thereof, a retainer bar coacting directly with said endwalls and extending over the swinging ends of said flaps beyond the zoneof folding, said bar being removable from said walls in order to permitswinging of said flaps for loading and unloading purposes, a garmenthanger secured to said edge portion of said plate oppositely of said barand between said flaps and said walls so as to permit the medial portionof a garment carried by said hanger to be folded around said bar, andmeans for detachably pivotally connecting said edge portion of the traywithin the suit case near the hinge of the latter.

JULIUS RITTER, JR.

